NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Boeing [BA] AH-64D Apache multi-mission helicopters are making a difference for the Army in the field, and program efforts at home support it, officials said.
Lt. Col. Hank Taylor has been back from Afghanistan for about three weeks. While there, he commanded task Force Saber of the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, working south of Kandahar. Apaches were among his mix of helicopters that flew every day in support of International Security Assistance Force Regional Command South.
Ground commanders knew they could count on Taylor’s Apaches, he said at the Army Aviation Association of America annual conference here. In one instance he related, he got a call from a ground commander thanking him for having Apaches in the air, even though it was a marginal flying day. From intelligence sources, the ground forces knew just the sound of the helicopters in the clouds kept the enemy from attacking friendly troops, while that same sound gave ground soldiers confidence. Ground forces knew the helicopters would be out supporting them.
“And that’s what the best attack helicopter in the world brings to the battlefield,” Taylor said. “As a commander, I can really testify there is nothing better that shoots, that’s able to see with the M/TADS (Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight), and I tell you it’s a game-changer for us.”
Commanders knew Apache missions were going to make a difference, he said. “We absolutely did.”
Task Force Saber had a company-plus of Apaches that flew more than 10,000 flight hours, with an 80-percent plus operational readiness rate, he said.
“I can tell you as a commander it (Apache) never failed me in a year, and I just got back. It never let us down, and, more importantly, it didn’t let down the ground force,” Taylor said.
Army Apache Project Manager Col. Shane Openshaw said, “Make no mistake about it, we talk about how the program is doing and all the exciting things that are on the horizon– (Taylor) and his formation and others like him deployed around the world today are the only reason that we’re here.”
Col. Grady King, Army Training and Doctrine Command Attack Helicopters Capability Manager, said: “We’re focused on today’s fight,” with five Apache battalions in Afghanistan and Iraq and one in Korea.
But the future always is considered with improvements in areas such as manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) on the way.
Today, Apache Block II aircraft have Level II interoperability with unmanned aerial systems (UAS). That is the ability to get video from the UAS into the Apache cockpit and then be able to push the video to a ground station or another aircraft, Openshaw said.
“We’ve seen tremendous benefit in improving air-ground integration, common view of particular geo-specific location on the battlefield by shared video awareness between the aircrew and the ground,” he said. “There has been tremendous improvement in the integration of those air and ground components.”
Taylor said: “Manned-unmanned teaming works.” The task force teamed with unmanned assets all year long.
“The successes we had this year in the 101st Aviation Brigade was even better than two years before when we were there,” he said. “That ability to even greater enhance the air ground integration with all the ground forces not only (with) UAVs but what our sensors are going to be able to see is just going to make us that more lethal.”
Tim Sassenrath, Boeing director of Apache Worldwide support, said the company maintains the helicopters in the field at above the 80 percent level for operational readiness. The company effort brings together soldiers, the Army Aviation and Missile Lifecycle Management Command and industry.
Boeing has a Performance Based Logistics contract that maintains an above 90 percent ability to deliver unique parts within 24 hours for eight years now, including the Contractor Logistics Support program, which contributes to the high readiness rates. In December, the company signed a second iteration of the PBL